Let's Bunny Hop
by kojika
Summary: While the others rest, Faize faces off with a pink bunny... short drabble, some really really minor EdgeFaize


**Let's Bunny Hop**  
_by Sanzaki Kojika_

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Star Ocean 4 or any of the characters in any way, shape, or form. But, if I did own one of those bunnies, I would be saving all the cacti all across the land! A ha ha ha! Please excuse any inconsistencies with the actual game, as it's been a bit of time since I've played it. But, yeah, onto the story~! **NOTE: This contains really minor hints of Edge x Faize and vice versa! **(like if you squint and look between the lines, lol)

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Who would have ever imagined that catching one little bunny would be so hard? Hours of sweat and tears had already been dedicated to this wild chase, and still with no luck. They were all exhausted by this time, and many in the group were ready to call it quit.

"Let's take a break, kay?" Lymle whined, slumping over as she scuttled over the rocky terrain. She paused for a second to kick a stray pebble before wobbling on. She finally got to an area clear of weeds and flopped down onto a large rock.

"I think Lymle's got the right idea. Edge, let's take a break…" Reimi forced a smile as she came up behind Edge, who was currently crouched in front of some weeds, thoroughly examining them. As she spoke, he stood up and sighed.

"I guess a break wouldn't hurt…" Edge grudgingly admitted. He really hated to give up, but then again, this wasn't giving up, right? It was just taking a break, that was all. He tried to convince himself that there wasn't anything more to it.

"Yeah, break, breaaak~!" Meracle skirted out of some tall grass and rolled beneath Edge's feet. The cat girl had nearly collapsed a moment earlier, but here she was now as playful as a kitten. He wondered where she got all of her energy.

"I think I saw a café back in town we could rest in…" Reimi started talking about the plans they would make for break, and Edge knew that with this group, it would end up being for a much longer period of time than he would like.

Edge mentally counted the people around him, taking note of the ones he saw. Reimi, Lymle, Meracle…he was missing one. He glanced around and spotted the Eldarian several feet away, examining something that made no sense to him.

"Faize, we're going to head back to town and rest for a bit," Edge shouted as he moved closer to the Eldarian. Faize glanced up and nodded slightly.

"Alright. I'm going to continue the search a bit longer. If that's alright with you," Faize didn't wait for an answer though as he continued through the strands of tall grass that surrounded him. Edge hesitated for a moment before going back to the others. He hated leaving the boy alone, but he also didn't really want to spend more time out here. He was as desperate for a break as the rest of them.

"Let's go, people!" Edge shouted as he charged towards the town. He made up his mind to hurry back to Faize after a cold drink. Though Faize had hinted he would only remain behind for a bit longer, Edge knew the Eldarian enough to know that he wouldn't be seeing Faize again until the Eldarian was exhausted, most likely late into the night.

Faize paused in his search to watch the others leave. Somehow, he still couldn't get comfortable around the group. He had spent much time with Reimi and Edge, however he still could not relate to the girl, and instead he found himself mainly focusing on Edge. Lymle was a little spoiled brat and he ceased to be amazed with how juvenile she could act. And Meracle…well, while he didn't dislike the girl, she was a bit much for him to handle being around all the time. It was nice to have a quiet moment to himself and his thoughts.

A sudden noise off to the side caught his attention. Faize straightened up to find himself face to face with just what he was looking for. The fluffy pink bunny blinked at him, and for a moment, the two were both still, simply staring at one another.

Faize shifted his ankle ever so slightly, but in doing so, a branch caught beneath his boot snapped. The sound was enough to send the bunny speeding off.

"Get back here!" Faize cried out as he took off after it. Unfortunately, the bunny was fast, much faster than he was. He continued to chase after it, zigzagging through the maze of tangled weeds and trees, and hurdling over rocks. He could see the distance between himself the bunny slowly closing. Good, if he could just continue this a little longer…

THUD! Faize found his face connecting to a low hanging branch. The collision caught him off guard and he went careening backwards, landing on the ground with a hard thump. He stiffened as he tried to sit up. As he stood up, he rubbed his lower back, trying to will the pain away.

He glanced up to find the bunny just a couple feet away, blinking at him. He forced a smile, all the while thinking about what he would do to that pesky rabbit once he caught it. He straightened up the rest of the way and motioned the bunny towards him, "Now why don't you be a good little bunny and come here? I'm not going to hurt you. See, I'm a friend…"

But as soon as Faize took a step forward, the bunny took off again. Faize's patience was starting to slip. Now, he was fairly calm and patient when it came to most things, but he lately had found the emotions inside of himself start to stir. And, it didn't help that he had already spent the last four hours trying to find this illusive rabbit, just to have it get away. Well, he wasn't about to let that happen.

"Get back here…!" Faize shouted as he continued the chase. The bunny lead him through tangled paths and low-hanging trees, trying to break the Eldarian off of its trail. Faize, however, was much more determined this time. He ignored the weeds that tried to snake around his ankles, and he pushed back any branches that dared to cross his path.

The trees broke away and the bunny burst out into the flat of the plain. Faize launched himself over the last bit of forest and fly after the bunny. He barely managed to land on his feet, but he caught himself just in time. He slowly straightened up. He glanced over at the bunny, his hair clinging to his face and only allowing the red of his eyes to show. The red flickered as his emotion rose.

The bunny's nose twitched as it stared Faize down, daring the Eldarian to make a move. Faize found his fingers twitching, just wishing to reach for his rapier, but he held himself in check, instead relying on his brain to find a way to outwit the reckless bunny. A million possibilities crossed his mind, but none of them seemed to work for the moment he found himself caught in.

The wind blew past and pushed a dying weed between the two of them, as if welcoming their oncoming duel. Faize suddenly found himself feeling foolish, standing there facing off with a rather harmless bunny. Sure, the bunny had caused him some trouble, but it was just an innocent bunny after all. The red flickered from his eyes as he calmed himself. That's right, this was nothing. Especially after all that he had been through with the others. He was suddenly even more relieved that the rest of the group, especially Edge, were nowhere to be seen.

After a moment that seemed to last forever, the bunny suddenly took off again. However, this time Faize was ready for it. With a quick hop, he was off, and he launched himself towards the bunny. He let out a wild battle cry as he flung himself upon it, pulling it and himself down into the dusty plain.

The bunny flailed beneath Faize, but the Eldarian clung on for his dear life. He wasn't about to lose it now, not after he had worked so hard to finally catch it! However…a sudden crunch behind him and a familiar voice made him lose concentration.

"Faize…?" he could hear Edge's voice, a hint of amusement in the undertones. He had never been so embarrassed in his entire life. In front of Edge, of all people…!

As soon as his concentration slipped, the bunny pulled away and Faize was met with a mouthful of dirt. He could hear the thuds from the bunny as it hopped away. He pulled himself up, coughing and spitting out the dirt. Darn it! He had been so close…!

"Really, it's not like you to be that reckless!" Edge was openly laughing now. Faize shot him what he could muster of a glare, his face bright red. He was always trying so hard to look brave and under control around Edge, and yet here he was, covered in dirt after wrestling a bunny.

"Here, get up," Edge grinned, holding out his hand. Faize hesitated for a moment before accepting it and allowing himself to be pulled up.

"Wow, you're really a wreck!" Edge observed, gently brushing some of the dirt from Faize's hair. He let his hand hover over the Eldarian's bangs for a couple seconds before pulling it back. Faize flushed slightly and pulled back.

"I-I almost had it…" was all Faize could think to say. He felt horribly uncomfortable beneath the other boy's stare, especially after the spectacle he had just let Edge witness.

Edge let out a chuckle and hit Faize gently on the back, "Hey, you did a good job! But, I think it's about time we head back to the others and call it a night! After a good rest, we can put our heads together and come up with an actual plan for catching this guy."

"Y-yes…" Faize lowered his head and nodded slightly.

Edge looked down at the other boy and smiled slightly. It was rare that he got to see moments where Faize let his guard down, but it never failed to amuse him. Faize…no, Eldarians, were so different from what he was used to. It was nice to see that every now and then they could react just as stupid as he often did. It helped him forget that they were different races.

"You did a good job!" Edge grinned as he ruffled the hair on Faize's head. Faize glanced up at him, his eyebrow twitching slightly. He was quite sure how to react to that. Part of him wanted to push the other boy away, but the other part of him didn't mind the contact. He decided to settle for just giving Edge a weak glare.

Edge laughed and lifted his hand off Faize's head, instead settling his arms around the smaller boy and dragged him back towards the town, "Let's go, let's go!"

Faize sighed and let himself fall into the other boy's pace. Maybe it wasn't so bad every now and then letting himself be a little unorthodox. After all, the man he admired most right now was pretty much always that way, and he had watched Edge grow stronger and braver with each coming onslaught. Maybe it was a good thing after all?

While he was distracted, he failed to notice that Edge, too, wasn't paying any attention to where they were going. His foot caught in a small dip in the ground and he went tumbling forward, taking the Eldarian with him. Faize lost his breath as Edge landed hard on top of him.

"Edge! What are you doing!?" Reimi's shrill voice broke through. Edge slowly sat up, allowing Faize to scurry out from underneath him. The Eldarian was coughing, trying to catch his breath. Edge lightly patted him on the back.

"Nothing! I was just bringing Faize back!" Edge snapped as he jumped to his feet, dragging Faize up with him.

"Sheesh! You were just playing! And, you even dragged Faize into it! He can't handle your rough housing! He's not a super strength idiot like you!" Reimi snapped back.

Faize sighed, once again, leaving the two to bicker. He found Meracle and Lymle playing a few feet away and actually decided to go and stand by them. At this point, the two of them would be less annoying.  
"You alright? Hm?" Meracle hopped around him, full of boundless energy.

"If that much hurt him, he'd be a bigger idiot than I thought. Though I still think he's an idiot, kay," Lymle retorted, waddling closer to the other two.

Faize rubbed his head, feeling a bit distraught. Well, he had chosen to go along with Edge and Reimi in their adventure, so he'd just have to learn to accept everything that was going on. He had a feeling that from now on, he would experience things much more frustrating and painful than the incident with the bunny.

Meracle grabbed onto his wrist and with a strength he couldn't even comprehend how her little body could be so forceful, he was dragged off towards town, Lymle waddling off after the two. And, he found himself dreading the second round with the bunny that was to come tomorrow…especially since this whole lot of idiots would be after it.

Still…he couldn't help but feel that he was luckier than the bunny. Who would have ever imagined that so much could come from trying to catch one little bunny? And as Faize headed back to town, all he could think about was what would be in store for them next.

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Lol, I know, kinda lame, but I had a lot of fun writing Faize vs the bunny. I just suddenly felt like writing about those bunnies, don't know why. Thanks for reading!


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